Cincinnati, Ohio — Excitement is building around the campus of Mount St. Joseph University as the Football program opens their season on Saturday, September 4th. The Lions look forward to hosting a tough out of conference opponent, the Albion Britons, in their home opener.
Albion enters this game as the defending MIAA champions, finishing their 2020 season with a 3-0 record. They were able to achieve this record with a potent offense that averaged 463 yards per game allowing them to score 37 points per contest. In talking about the upcoming opponent the Lion's Head Coach, Tyler Hopperton had this to say:
"Albion is a very big and athletic team, who is well coached. We are excited about
the opportunity to compete with one of the better teams in the region."
After a Covid-shortened 2020 season in which the Lions finished 5-1, there is excitement surrounding the program, as they have a great opportunity to bring the HCAC Championship back to Cincinnati. The Lions were predicted to finish second in the HCAC pre-season coaches poll, but are eager to outperform expectations set by the conference, as they return a strong offense and plenty of depth on the defensive side of the ball.
The Mount's offense was a strong suit for the team last season, and only graduated two starters. The Lions offense looks to continue their dominance in the running game, that totaled 1,300 yards in just six games, helping aid the offense in scoring 43 point per game. The leader of the offense is Sophomore Quarterback Josh Taylor (Mt. Orab, Ohio/Western Brown). Last season Taylor stuffed the stat sheet, as he led the nation in rushing touchdowns with 17 and was very efficient in the pass game. Surrounding Taylor in the passing game is Wide-Receiver duo Joey Newton (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) and Austin Brock (Gainesville, Ga./East Hall). This duo helped the Lions passing attack finish second in the conference in passing offense. With a well balanced attack, the offense looks to improve off of an impressive 2020 campaign.
The Lions defense boasts depth that they have not seen in several years. The strength of this defense is the Senior Linebacking core of Julius Fisher (St. Mary's, Ohio/St. Mary's Memorial) and Jonathan Finn (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills). Fisher led the HCAC in tackling last season, with 58 total tackles. Finn finished his season fourth in the conference with 39 total tackles, in just four games. The defense finished the season first in passing defense, holding opponents to an average of 179 yards passing per contest, while totaling 20 sacks.
This weekend's game is set for Saturday, September 4, with kickoff scheduled for 1:30 PM. For continued coverage of this game and all other MSJ athletics tune in to msjlions.com.
